Who We Are and What We do

There are three of us who are devoted to riding the bluebird trail every week from March through August, or whenever the last nestlings have fledged. We keep detailed records of each of the thirty-three nestboxes. We also are avid birders and spend time looking for and at birds as well as listening and identifying them by song, call, and chips. Every time we go out, there is something exciting for us to talk about with each other. It's pooled knowledge and our friendship has become solid because of it.

Although it is not necessary to have three persons to do our assignment, we like it this way because we have backup if one of us is not available on a particular day. One of us is a retired school teacher, another a retired power plant supervisor, and one is a retired manufacturing factory owner. Together it's an excellent team because of our broad background experiences.

The records that we keep on each box are kept in a large notebook. There is one sheet per box with information to be checked off or written in. The categories include: date, monitors' initials, partial or complete nest, number of eggs, number of chicks, and probable number fledged. The last category is always a guess as we usually don't know for sure that the chicks actually flew. They could have been attacked by predators, but we keep a positive view and count them as having fledged safely.

There are other records kept also such as location of the boxes and how the location affects the probability of box use. As a result of these records, we have moved unused boxes to locations that have resulted in nests in those boxes. We don't have it right yet and we expect to move a few more by the next bluebird season. Our project may not be of great interest to many folks but, to us, it's a fascinating study of the Eastern Bluebirds.

A 'Moon' Bird

Each week we eagerly start the bluebird monitoring at 8:30 in the morning, usually a Tuesday, to find the latest happenings in the boxes along the trail. It is a delight to be at the garden enjoying the beauty of the surroundings as well as seeing the bluebirds and hearing their lilting calls. Folks driving by and on their way to work give us a friendly wave when they see us peeking in boxes. We're part of the scenery and that's confirmation that all is well.

That is, we hope all is well but we are having a few surprises from time to time. Sometimes a box that had five eggs in it the week before might have only one egg remaining. Or the chicks that were newborn have disappeared. Or the nest has been completely abandoned. We conclude that predators are the culprits. It's sad but it's also the way of nature and every animal has to have a meal now and then. A couple of boxes that are near the ponds have been vandalized. Snakes are suspect but one box has claw marks on it which suggests a raccoon. We make notes of all these happenings in our notebook.

The biggest surprise has been a tree swallow that refuses to leave the box when we try to check on it. That mother bird is steadfast. She does not budge. We even used a flashlight in an effort to confirm her identity and all she did was show us her backside. Imagine that! Being 'mooned' by a bird! Tree swallows are known to use bluebird boxes and, in fact, sometimes are regarded as pests. However, this is the first year that one of our boxes has been used. Maybe in the next week or two, we'll be able to peek at what's going on inside that box. Mama has to leave sometime in order to gather insects for the chicks. If we're lucky, she'll be gone when we come along.

As to the "blues" themselves, everything is on course for this time of the season. Chicks have fledged and second nestings have begun. Life continues and it gives us many surprises along the way. That's the way it should be.

Fresh Faces and the Evil Eye

With the end of April here, there are twenty-three bluebird chicks being fed and nourished by doting parents. Within the next week, ten of them probably will be out in the world learning the ways of chasing their own food. In addition there are forty-four eggs being incubated so the bluebird season is well on its way.

We have nests in seventeen of the thirty-three boxes. This is a slight increase over the number of nests last year at this time. Also, there are chickadee and titmouse nests in three of the boxes but we don’t include those in our data.

Unfortunately there is evidence of predators in the bluebird nests as some of the eggs have disappeared. The nests themselves don’t seem to be disturbed and we don’t find the eggs on the ground near the boxes so perhaps snakes are invading and eating them. Also, we are seeing the stick nests of house wrens in one box. The wren is persistent and we do remove them because, at this point, they are only the beginnings of nests and no eggs have been laid. If there are eggs or chicks in those nests, it is not lawful to remove them.

House sparrows have chosen one particular box for their use. They are a threat to the bluebird population so their nests are being removed also. House sparrows are not native birds and, therefore, not protected by law. They are messy birds and use lots of trash in their constructions. We’ve found materials such as cellophane, cigarette butts, and goose feathers. Like the house wrens, they will destroy bluebird eggs as well as chicks and sometimes prevent bluebird parents from entering the box.

As we peek into the nests, we are finding that the mother bird sometimes refuses to leave the box. We knock on the side of the box to make the bird fly out and when we open the panel to peek in, the bird is in there and just gives us the evil eye. When mama is glowering at us and refusing to budge, then we just tell her we’ll wait until next week to see what she’s hiding. Maybe her mood will be better then.

That’s the status of things along the bluebird trail here at the garden the last week of April.